VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (letter).

Homophobic column

August 11, 2005|By Eric Miller.

Chicago — Kathleen Parker's Aug. 3 column appears, at first glance, to be a thoughtful discussion of the legal ramifications of same-sex parenting on children. But the column very quickly devolves into a nasty, anti-gay screed, condemning the rights of gay people to form and legally protect their families.

Parker dresses up her thinly veiled disdain by pretending to be concerned about the rights of children to know the true identity of their biological parents. But she seemingly has no such concerns about the children of heterosexual couples who resort to sperm donation or surrogacy to create a family.

Does she argue that a sperm donor's or surrogate's name should appear on a birth certificate as the father or mother, rather than the person who will be raising and loving the child?

The reality, whether or not Parker likes it, is that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that what makes a family is love and commitment.

Parker's true agenda is clear in her derisive dismissal of same-sex couples pursuing a "familial fantasy" and the closing sentence of her column: "Once the idea of a biological mother and father is expunged from the culture, there is one less logical impediment to normalizing same-sex marriage, which is, of course, the point."

If Parker intended to write a column condemning gay marriage, she should have had the honesty to do so directly, rather than dressing up her homophobia in pretty words about children.